Floyd Mayweather made history Saturday night. In the biggest fight in well over 15 years, he soundly and decisively defeated Manny Pacquiao in a battle dubbed “Fight of the Century.” Mayweather also moved to 48-0, improving an already perfect record.
Mayweather started the fight off fast, winning the first two rounds, landing at a much higher rate than Pacquiao. As the fight continued, Pacquiao found success working Mayweather’s body while up against the ropes. Eventually Pacquiao got far too comfortable moving in a straight line, and fell prey to Mayweather’s excellent counter attacks and size advantage.
While Mayweather took home a decisive win, Pacquiao was never completely out of the fight per se. He had the sporadic excellent round several times throughout rounds 3-12, but couldn’t put it together consistently enough to stifle the game plan of Mayweather. Heading in to the final round, all Mayweather needed to do was survive.
The scorecards were read, and Mayweather took home victory number 48. He’s one shy of the landmark that Rocky Marciano set, reaching 49-0. Mayweather has one fight left on his contract, which he says will happen in September. He also said he won’t seek 50-0, and will instead retire after fulfilling that deal. It’s quite likely that Mayweather is leveraging to get a huge deal for potential retirement fight.
After the bout, Mayweather jawed at some fans who took issue with him, but then turned a 180, totally respecting Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather said “Now I see why (Pacquiao) is at the pinnacle of the sport of boxing. He pushed me.”
Pacquiao, on the other hand, drew criticism from fans and media. While being interviewed by Max Kellerman, Pacquiao said that he thought he won the fight. Kellerman, in complete disbelief, simply barked out “Why?!” Pacquiao also stated that Mayweather wasn’t bigger than him. He, in fact, is.
Mayweather cemented an already impressive legacy. You don’t have to like the man for his decisions out of the ring, but his accomplishments inside of it speak volumes. He put an end to a six-year rivalry with a victory in an exceptional fight (to some), and walked out with a nine figure paycheck. And Kane didn’t even have to interfere in this main event.
